Notes and Essays -- John Brown

A new generation has been cutting red tape to speed weapons to the front. But the old guard pushed back, and now Ukraine’s young defense minister is out. A friend’s call for help led Mykhailo Rudominski into defense work. His company, Himera, makes electronic warfare-resistant radios. Credit... [image:] Jędrzej Nowicki for The New York Times By Constant  Méheut Reporting from Kiev, Ukraine July 17, 2026  Updated 4:57 p.m. ET The New York Time s Original article contains links. This spring, a Ukrainian defense ministry employee was reviewing Denmark’s military aid commitments when she found a problem buried in the fine print. Thousands of artillery shells earmarked for Ukraine were the wrong kind — short-range ammunition that would not enable guns to strike deep behind Russian lines. Skipping the usual bureaucratic process, the staffer worked the phones around the clock, pushing Danish officials to modify the aid package, according to her boss, Oleksii Ant/oniuk, deputy head o...